This invention relates to mechanical-shock fragility testing of portable consumer products such as portable mobile phones, pagers, etc.
To assess physical robustness of portable consumer products, manufacturers subject these products to impact and subsequently test their continued function and reliability. Currently, many manufacturers conduct such tests by dropping the product by hand. However, such a drop test is not suitable for controlled repeatability and therefore poses a major problem in verifying test data. To overcome this problem, various drop test devices have been suggested. For example, Japanese Patent No. 1-239465 discloses a mechanical device for elevating a product and dropping it onto a target surface and U.S. Pat. No. 4,910,995 discloses repeat drop tests of a compact disc using a string. An impact testing machine is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,412,598, where a test package is propelled at high velocity via a horizontal rail and is disengaged by a quick release mechanism, allowing it to continue its motion towards an impact receiving surface. Although the prior art discloses repeatable drop testing of products there is no disclosure of a generally versatile mechanism which allows for the orientation of the product to be specifically manipulated and controlled for repeat testing.
It is a primary object of the invention to facilitate drop testing of a portable consumer product at any desired orientation and drop height, to allow assessment of damage to the product when it is subjected to impact at different orientations and from various drop heights.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
In accordance with the invention, there is provided a drop tester including a gripper mechanism for holding a product to be tested, a guide track, a slider block which is mounted to slide along the guide track and advance the mechanism toward a target location and a release device for triggering release of the product from the mechanism to impact at the target location.
Preferably, the gripper mechanism includes gripper arms coupled to the slider block, the gripper arms being rotatable relative to the slider block to enable the orientation of the product to be varied, relative to the target location.
In another aspect, there is provided a gripper mechanism for use in the above drop tester.